Policing expert says racket beating case was 'an outrageous incident' and a 'firing offense'

If it weren't for police body cameras, nobody would have known or cared about Richard O'Donnell.

But when camera footage captured images of him getting attacked by a Daytona Beach Police Department K-9, beaten over the head with a tennis racket and jolted by a Taser several times went viral, a lot of people noticed.

An internal investigation found no evidence that there was an excessive use of force. Many disagreed.

Among them was George Kirkham, a renowned criminologist and expert on police training. I sent him the camera footage, unedited, and asked him what he thought.

"I’m a former police officer myself and trained officers in the use of force," he told me in a phone interview. He didn't mince words. "This is an outrageous incident. In fact, it is a firing offense.”

O'Donnell, 57, a homeless, destitute, veteran, according to court records, entered into a plea agreement Friday and was released from jail. He had been charged with burglarizing a car, resisting an officer with violence, and touching or causing harm to a police dog.

More: Man beaten by Daytona Beach police officer with tennis racket reaches plea deal

Kirkham has a doctorate in criminology from the University of California at Berkeley. Rather than spend all his time in the classroom, he actually became a police officer, spending some time in Jacksonville and 10 years in Tallahassee. He's currently a professor emeritus at Florida State University.

He said the footage speaks for itself.

"A picture is worth a thousand words," Kirkham said. "A video is worth 10,000 words.”

What happened?

On April 8 at 2:10 a.m., two Daytona Beach police officers were dispatched to a Toyota dealership on North Nova Road when a security officer reported a car in the service area was being burglarized.

Officer Aurian Fletcher, K-9 officer Joshua Martin, and K-9 Vezer encountered O'Donnell. O'Donnell had been arrested many times for offenses such as loitering and trespassing. He was familiar to Fletcher.

He was also carrying a tennis racket.

Officers from some distance away, ordered O'Donnell to get on the ground. At that point, O'Donnell went into a "fighting stance," according to the police report authored by Fletcher.

"Police K-9, get on the ground, you're going to get bit," yelled Martin, according to an unedited recording of his actions. He repeated the warning a second time. On the third warning, he said "Last warning, get on the ground now or you're going to get (expletive) bit."

The dog was released. Next, we see O'Donnell on the ground, using the tennis racket trying to fend off the dog. The dog bit him on the leg and O'Donnell appeared to be squeezing the dog between his legs. Martin grabbed the tennis racket from O'Donnell and hit him over the head with it several times, a detail that wasn't included in the police report.

'Oh my God'

O'Donnell began screaming and yelled "I love ya" and "I love you too honey" and "Oh my God."

Martin pulled the dog back leaving O'Donnell on the ground in a fetal position with his arms locked in front of him. He was ordered several times to put his hands behind his back but did not comply.

At one point, O'Donnell started singing the words to the "Star Spangled Banner."

More officers arrived. Asked about what happened, Martin said laughing, "Dude, he was choking Vezer so I beat him in the head with the (expletive) racket."

A bloodied O'Donnell still refused to put his arms behind his back. He was tasered at least three times and finally relented and was taken into custody.

'Improvised impact weapon'

In a review of the incident, Lt. Richard Maher later wrote in a use of force report, that Martin "utilized the racquet as an improvised impact weapon striking the subject several times in the head and shoulders."

After the video began circulating, the Daytona Beach Police Department released a statement signed by Sergeant Tim Ehrenkaufer of the Office of Professional Standards. In it, he said using the dog was "per the normal operating procedures for this type of in-progress felony."

Ehrenkaufer wrote the suspect "aggressively used the racket against Vezer while also kicking him, and then made attempts to choke the K-9 by wrapping both his legs and arms around the dog's neck, a potentially fatal series of actions."

Using the tennis racket to get O'Donnell to let go "was the safest choice for everyone involved."

"We will not be releasing any further statements or updates on this matter," he wrote.

Why release the dog?

Kirkham said the dog should never have been released in the first place. He compares the use of the dog as having the same degree of severity as striking a baton blow.

"There was nothing I saw that would justify taking that dog off the leash," he said. “You’ve got a lot of other options. You want to de-escalate the situation."

He recommended a "tactical disengagement." Back up get out of reach proximity and call for back-up. Keep caustic spray handy and utilize the Taser if necessary. As for the tennis racket?

”There are situations where you can improvise but this ain’t one of them,” Kirkham said

Out of jail

O'Donnell was released Friday from jail. He spent a combined total of 79 days locked up. He pleaded no contest to the charges, which will be dismissed if he successfully completes the terms of a two-year Veterans Court plea agreement.

He has to keep his nose clean. No law-breaking, no drugs, no alcohol, no bars or liquor stores, a mental health evaluation, random urinalysis, etc.

He also has to pay $100 to the State Attorney's Office for the cost of prosecution and another $100 to the Daytona Police Department for the cost of the investigation.

His public defender did not return an email seeking comment.

John Dunbar is executive editor of the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Homeless veteran victim of excessive force from Daytona cop says expert